Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Mick entered the forest occupied by the Oxynos Clan.

While Mick targeted the stragglers on the outskirts of the enemy’s territory, Martin climbed a tree and aimed his arrow.

Martin’s eyes, which had turned water-colored like the color of his mana, were hidden behind the leaves on the branches, and he aimed at the head of an isolated enemy.

Thud─

“Got one.”

Apparently, the enemy died instantly without even screaming, as the forest didn’t become chaotic despite the arrow being fired.

‘If Mick and Martin reduce their numbers one by one like this, 30 people won’t be a big deal, will they?’

It seemed that most of the members, except for Demern’s party, were of low level.

As I secretly felt relieved and watched the front, something happened.

Piyooong─ Bang.

Mick had thrown the small signal flare that Martin had given him, infused with blue mana, to alert him of an emergency.

Martin slapped his forehead.

“Mick, you idiot. Even though your specialty is trap dismantling…”

He had sent the signal in just 10 minutes.

[Chaos shakes its head, wondering why he went alone if he’s going to be so confident.]

Whether he was spotted by the group or whether the enemy had an unexpected move that caused the ambush to fail, only Mick, who had entered the forest, would know.

Martin spotted Mick running around and aimed his arrow again.

Thud─

“Damn, I underestimated them.”

Anyway, the ambush was now impossible.

Martin gave instructions from the tree.

“Dietrich, did you bring potions? Go in first and cause as much chaos as possible. I’ll follow and cover you, so let’s go deep into their territory.”

“I understand. I’ll draw as much attention as possible.”

“Good. The nun will follow slowly from behind and assist with healing and protection, and Ahren will attack while guarding. Can I trust you?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

My position was an attacker based on defense.

Martin could simply move by shooting an arrow and burning the trees around him, but Mick was running around, and Dietrich, the vanguard, was infiltrating the enemy’s territory. Marianne had to be protected by me.

“⋯Blessing of the Holy Light.”

[The effect of the blessing of light increases all stats by one level for one hour.]

Marianne, who cast the buff, bowed her head to me.

“I’ll follow you diligently so as not to hinder your defense. Good luck.”

“Yes. I’ll protect you. Stay close.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you.”

“Okay, let’s stop the cheesy conversation and get going!”

With that, we entered the territory occupied by the clan, leaving Mick to hide and escape on his own.

.

.

.

“Boss!”

“I saw the signal flare too. Don’t be so jumpy, just wait. And you.”

-Grip.

Demern grabbed the collar of the officer who delivered the news of the death.

“Don’t call me boss, call me clan leader. It’s not the first or second time… Do my words mean nothing to you?”

“No, no!”

Pak!

Demern released the officer’s collar and gave him instructions.

“Don’t make a fuss over the death of a few new recruits. The real strength of Oxynos is us. In times like this, you need to keep your head straight.”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind!”

“Good. I was in the Steel Mountains, remember?”

The officer was about to sweat as he had to listen to Demern’s stories about his time as a ranger in the Steel Mountains.

A one-armed clan member ran up and shouted.

“Clan leader! These bastards are not to be underestimated!”

“What’s their strength?”

“Yes, it seems that a heavily armored sword-fighter and an archer are particularly strong.”

“More details. It can’t be just that.”

“Yes, there’s a thief running around like an eel, but he’s not causing much damage, and a black mage is guarding the nun! They all seem to be mid-level adventurers. What should we do?”

Demern stroked his chin.

‘Based on their composition, it seems to be the second party that returned. Yes. The brown-haired archer and the heavily armored warrior with plate armor were memorable. Wait, a black mage?’

“Was the black mage a black-haired, golden-eyed men?”

“Yes!”

‘This is ridiculous. I thought I had sent him back politely, but he’s stabbing me in the back like this?’

Demern opened his mouth with a stern face.

“It seems that information about the Golden Goblin has leaked out.”

“⋯.”

“If it wasn’t for that, why would they dare to confront us when they don’t know what special species we’re after? They wouldn’t risk fighting the clan unless it was absolutely necessary, especially with just five of them.”

-Booom!

Demern stomped his feet and gathered the four officers who were the core of the clan and his party members.

“Take out all the consumables you can use right now. Every single one, no exceptions!”

“But if we use up all our consumables against them…”

“If we keep going like this, we’ll be in trouble. It’s better to go all-out and finish them quickly.”

Demern calculated the cost-benefit in his head.

The Golden Goblin, with its distinctive golden skin and random treasures in its black bag.

Not to mention the origin, which has a low chance of appearing when a special species is captured.

Should they pretend to retreat and then strike from behind when the special species appears?

No. If the opponents are not exceptionally strong, and our force and numbers are superior, it’s better to go all-out.

‘Anyway, we can replenish our supplies and money if we just catch the Golden Goblin and return. Damn, why did these mid-level adventurers come here before us?’

“Distribute scrolls, doping items, and potions to the remaining members, excluding those currently in combat, without any hesitation.”

At Demern’s instruction, the four officers each took out communication magic tools and instructed the other party leaders.

“Hurry up and take them! Use them without hesitation and show those bastards what we’re made of!”

“Yes!”

Ping. Thud.

Demern took out his bow and kept plucking the bowstring.

“How dare a young upstart challenge me? I’ll pierce that arrogant head of yours with my arrow.”

At his signal, all the remaining members of the clan started advancing, drawing their weapons and arrows.

.

.

.

The battle began with Dietrich’s first strike.

[Dietrich casts ‘Tank Charge’.]

His black armor turned red.

Huff.

Steam-like rough breaths escaped from under the closed helmet’s visor.

Tank Charge.

A charge technique that destroys everything in its path with the mass and heavy footsteps of the plate armor.

Bang! Bang!

Nothing could stop his relentless charge, infused with mana, not even trees or rocks.

Bang! Kwaang!!!

Dietrich finally stopped after knocking down and throwing a clan member.

The goblin I had tackled earlier looked like this.

The clan member who was knocked down and scattered coughed up blood and died.

“Come at me.”

He spoke briefly and swung his sword and shield to attack the enemy.

“This is!”

Peeung─

Some archers aimed their bows and crossbows at Dietrich, but it was useless.

Thud.

Martin’s arrow, infused with water-colored mana, drew a graceful curve and deflected the enemy’s arrows with a unique, heavy sound.

‘Can this be called archery? He shoots one arrow and deflects three in a row.’

“H-How is this possible.”

Even I was dumbfounded watching from a distance, so I can only imagine how the archers felt.

Looking at the back of the group, I saw archers with either a bewildered or surprised expression.

While Dietrich and Martin slowly reduced the enemy’s numbers one by one, I wasn’t just standing idly by.

“Damn. If I’m going to die here, I might as well take down that big-breasted nun before I go!”

[Gulak casts ‘Prey Hunt’.]

Two members with relatively high stats managed to slip past Dietrich and Martin and targeted Marianne.

Is that weapon called a shamshir?

The curved scimitar was about to reach Marianne, but I blocked it with my sword.

Chaeng!

‘This attack is so obvious that it’s almost laughable.’

The trajectory was so obvious that it seemed like they had wasted their stats.

Instead of avoiding and responding, I brought my sword to the middle of the trajectory to counter the technique.

“My sword has been read, huh?”

Finishing off the startled opponent was a piece of cake.

Chwaak!

“Kkeuk. Keuk.”

“Aaaah! You crazy monster bastards!!!”

[Houston casts ‘Earth Strike’.]

Huff.

This attack was strong but lacked finesse, and it was actually easier to read than the scimitar.

Kwaang!!!

I easily dodged the strike, and the mace that was meant to hit Marianne or me ended up destroying the ground instead.

The shoulder that had been put too much force into, and the body that was leaning forward.

Squeak.

I beheaded the kneeling man.

‘Let’s try attacking as well.’

I focused my mind and carefully chose a position above the clan members, making sure not to hit Dietrich.

Fzzz. Fzzz.

I gathered my strength and…

‘Thunder!’

Kwaang!!!

A purple lightning bolt struck the center of the enemy group.

“Kyaaaak!!!”

“⋯Khek.”

The two who were hit directly died instantly.

The other clan members, who had just been attacking alongside their now-dead companions, were shocked and scattered.

Jjing.

I was happy that the lightning had worked, but as expected, the backlash of the trait soon followed.

“To cast such a powerful lightning spell without an incantation…”

I frowned and stumbled, and Marianne, who was quick to notice, cast a light healing spell.

[The effect of mental healing reduces headaches, confusion, hallucinations, and frenzy.]

“Kheuk. Thanks to you, I feel better.”

“No, thank you. I’m more grateful to you. Pa, you said that big-breasted nun was easy to take down, what a vulgar expression… It’s low-class.”

Marianne seemed particularly sensitive to sexual matters, as she wrapped her arms around her body and shivered.

‘Don’t adventurers usually get used to sexual jokes after spending time in the labyrinth?’

Well, it’s not just talk…

When you encounter a man with an erection who’s trying to rape you, it’s a natural reaction to be shocked.

Anyway, I needed to calm down and focus on the battle.

“Don’t worry, nun. A lustful dog has been charmed by your beauty, but I’ll kill anyone who dares to harm you.”

“Oh, my goodness. Thank you.”

[Chaos calls her an easy nun and criticizes her for being easily charmed.]

Anyway, this is not the time for that.

Due to my position, I couldn’t leave Marianne’s side, so I needed to cast lightning again.

As I focused again and was about to choose a location to strike with lightning, a system message suddenly appeared.